A local Twickenham firework display provided most of the entertainment on Friday night as Quins edged Sale in a close, if not dull, encounter at The Stoop. The away side, clothed in a rather eye-catching fluorescent yellow strip, were the only ones to show any spark, with Danny Cipriani the stand out player thanks to the kicking masterclass he executed. Quins, on the other hand, were sluggish and lifeless, and were lucky to leave with the win having gone 0 – 7 down early on, and having struggled to get back into the game against a dominant Sale side.
The first ten minutes of the second half provided the only excitement of the game for the home fans, with their side emerging from the break reinvigorated to take the lead for the first time in the match, which they would hold on to for the remainder of the game. In that short spell, Nick Evans was, as ever, impressive, slotting four kicks to give Quins a 16 – 7 lead. Fresh from Scotland’s World Cup Campaign, new signing Tim Visser recovered from his earlier spill of Cipriani’s high ball, which had led to the Braid try, to mark his debut at The Stoop with a wonderful try off a Nick Evans cross-field kick. But after a first half where possession and territory was completely dominated by the away side, they were lucky that this small period was enough to cinch the victory.
For the majority of the game, Sale looked the better side, and kept the pressure on strong as they dominated territory, even up to the final whistle when a Cipriani drop goal could have won them the match. Despite this, the stand out 10 is certainly questioning selection decisions after his fiery start to the premiership season. Equally impressive was captain Dan Braid, who led an enthused side from the front, and managed to keep the energy up even when they went behind early in the second half. A sole bit of Quins, and coincidentally England, celebration came in the 62nd minute when Joe Marler clattered poor 5″7 new winger Nev Edwards to the ground. This was followed by a wonderful try saving tackle from England full back Mike Brown, which may well have cost Sale the game.
But moments like this were few and far between, and Harlequins will have to regroup after this performance before their next draw at home on Thursday to Montpellier in the Challenge Cup. They managed to secure the all important win tonight, but it was a performance which would not rival the top Premiership teams, and will certainly not earn them the top 4 place that Director of Rugby, Conor O’Shea, so desires. He admitted his disappointment in his post match interview with Premiership Rugby, especially after recent strong performances away at Welford Road and the Rec: “We’ve got a win which we potentially didn’t deserve, but I know where we’re at as a team because of how well we’ve played over the last few weeks”. Sure, they rested key players, and have Welsh legends Jamie Roberts and Adam Jones to return, but they’ve lost new signing Mat Luamanu to injury early in the season, in a continuation of the injury curse that will see him sidelined for the next 10 weeks following pectoral surgery. They cannot simply hope that a few standout players will inject the class and passion needed to achieve their aims for the season, especially after disappointing fans tonight with a very average performance. Fans will hope that the home side will return to their usual style of fast pace, exciting rugby that we all know and love.
Elsewhere in the Premiership, this weekend London Irish take on Bath at the Madejski, whilst Exeter play host to Leicester at Sandy Park. In another of Saturday’s clashes, Worcester will face Newcastle at Sixways, and will look towards two wins from four to mark their return to the top division. Down the road, at Franklin’s Gardens, Northampton Saints take on Saracens in a big encounter where the away side will look to continue their table topping winning run. Sunday will see Wasps line up against Gloucester in the final match of the weekend, in which each club will look to secure their place in the Premiership table before we launch into Champions Cup action in the coming weeks.
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